The British Army 1914-1918

577 Pages·2014·16.75 MB·English

by  Andrew Rawson

CONTENTS
TITLE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND
A Century of Peace?; Reorganization of the Army;
Britain’s Standing Army; The Territorial Force; The
Indian Army; Guarding the Empire; Irish Home Rule –
The Curragh Incident; The War Book; The Countdown to
War; Timeline of British Operations on the Western Front;
The BEF’s Sector

CHAPTER TWO MOBILIZATION AND TRAINING
Deploying the British Expeditionary Force; Reservists;
The Territorial Force; Deployment of the Territorial
Divisions; Kitchener’s Recruitment Campaign; Preparing
the New Armies; Medical Classification; Compulsory
Service; Maintaining the British Army; Australian
Imperial Force; New Zealand Expeditionary Force;
Canadian Expeditionary Force; East African Divisions and
South African Troops; The Indian Army; Smaller
Dominions and Colonies

CHAPTER THREE THE HIGHER DIRECTION OF THE WAR
The War Council; The War Cabinet; The Supreme War
Council; The Army Council; Chief of the Imperial General
Staff; Home Defence Forces; General Headquarters,
British Expeditionary Force; The Armies; Army
Operations; The Corps; Other Theatres

CHAPTER FOUR ARMS, CORPS AND REGIMENTS
Arms of the Service; Infantry Regiments
CHAPTER FIVE THE ARMS
The Infantry; Types of Infantry Battalion; The Royal
Artillery; The Cavalry; The Royal Engineers; The Signal
Service; Labour Units; Tunnelling Companies; The
Special Brigade; Camouflage; Specialist Engineer
Companies; The Machine Gun Corps; The Tank Corps;
Intelligence

CHAPTER SIX THE SERVICES
Army Service Corps; Labour Corps; Changes Behind the
Lines; Lines of Communication; Royal Army Medical
Corps; Health; Army Ordnance Corps; Supporting
Services

CHAPTER SEVEN DIVISIONAL ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY
The Infantry Division; Cavalry Divisions; Mounted and
Cyclist Divisions; Infantry Division Histories; Cavalry and
Mounted Division Histories

CHAPTER EIGHT THE SOLDIER
1914 Uniform and Equipment; The Daily Ration;
Responsibilities and Badges of Rank; Campaign Medals;
Gallantry Medals; Crime and Punishment

CHAPTER NINE WEAPONS
Revolvers; Rifles; Periscopes; Bayonets; Grenades;
Trench Weapons; Swords; Machine Guns; Trench
Mortars; Flamethrowers; Field Artillery; Medium and
Heavy Artillery; Artillery Ammunition; Ammunition
Statistics; Anti-Aircraft Guns; Tanks; Gas; Experimental
Section

CHAPTER TEN TACTICS
Open Warfare in 1914; Trench Warfare; Life in the
Trenches; Preparing for Battle; On the Defensive

CHAPTER ELEVEN MAPPING
Trench Maps

CHAPTER TWELVE BEHIND THE LINES
Training Facilities; Soldiers at Rest; Entertainment;
Auxiliary Social Services; Women’s Voluntary
Organizations; Organizing Women’s Labour; Home Leave

CHAPTER THIRTEEN LEGACY
The Armistice; Demobilization; Cemeteries and
Memorials; The British Legion; War Memorials in the
United Kingdom; The Cost; Poetry and Literature; Trench
Poetry and Songs; Propaganda and the War Artists

APPENDIX 1 PRINCIPAL COMMANDERS OF THE BRITISH AND DOMINION
FORCES
APPENDIX 2 ABBREVIATIONS
APPENDIX 3 SOLDIERS’ SLANG
BIBLIOGRAPHY
COPYRIGHT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When I started work on this book, I never realised what a journey of discovery I
was embarking on; many people have helped me along that journey. Dr John
Bourne, Director of the Centre for First World War Studies at Birmingham
University, has been a constant help, clearing up a host of queries and pointing
me towards useful sources.
Many of the photographs come from the Imperial War Museum’s Department
of Photographs where the staff’s friendly and professional guidance aided me in
my arduous search for relevant illustrations. Countless members of staff at
libraries across the north of England, including Leeds City, Leeds University,
Manchester and Bradford City Libraries have patiently sought out material.
Without their assistance my work would have been impossible.
Finally, I would like to thank Nick Reynolds of Sutton Publishing Ltd and
Donald Sommerville for guiding me, seemingly effortlessly, through the writing
and preparation of this book.
I hope that this book increases the understanding of what the men and women
endured between 1914 and 1918 and it is dedicated to my son Alex; let us hope
that his generation learns from their experiences.
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND
A C P ?
ENTURY OF EACE
The year 1815 marked the end of Great Britain’s involvement in European
campaigns for nearly a century (with the brief exception of the Crimean War).
While political and military struggles flared across the continent, the British
Empire expanded round the world. Private enterprise conquered territories in the
search for new resources while the Army followed and the Royal Navy patrolled
the oceans, protecting the shipping routes.
China was a source for opium and tea while Burma was a major supplier of
teak, but, after complaining about trading, both were forced to submit to British
rule; China handed over Hong Kong while Burma was totally annexed.
India was Britain’s main concern but attempts to secure the North-West
Frontier in 1838 to protect against a feared Russian invasion ended in disaster;
fifty years of skirmishing followed before the Afghans accepted a British envoy
in Kabul. There was trouble in Lahore in 1848 when the Sikhs invaded the
British East India Company’s territories and in 1857 Indian Sepoys mutinied,
massacring British garrisons before they were suppressed. After quelling the
uprisings the Army took control of the East India Company’s area, starting the
era of the British Raj and peace in India. A final uprising by Chitral tribesmen at
the end of the century resulted in the annexation of the area.
Tensions with Russia flared in 1854 and Britain sent 30,000 troops to the
Crimea as part of an alliance with France, Turkey and Sardinia to prevent the
Russians extending their influence over Turkey. The Army suffered setbacks at
Balaclava and Inkerman, while thousands died of sickness during the siege of
Sevastopol. A new medal, the Victoria Cross, was introduced as the highest
award for valour during the war and, when the French captured a key position in
the Sevastopol fortress the following year, the Russians withdrew and made
peace.
In Africa, Britain had annexed the Cape Colony from the Dutch East India
Company as early as 1814, establishing a toehold at the southern tip of the
continent, but further colonization was delayed by the threat of malaria. The
annexation caused tension with the Boers and they withdrew into the Transvaal
and the Orange Free State to retain their independence.
The discovery of quinine in 1850 allowed travellers to explore more readily
and, once they returned with news of vast untapped riches, European traders
with private armies staked their claims. Professional armies soon followed to
protect the new provinces. The British Army pursued an aggressive occupation
policy, annexing Basutoland, the Gold Coast, the Transvaal and Zululand (where
British troops suffered a humiliating defeat at Isandlwana). An invasion of Natal
in 1881 resulted in the First Boer War and stirred the Boers to arm themselves
with modern rifles and guns bought from Europe.
British troops landed in Ashanti in 1896, extending the Empire’s hold on the west coast of Africa.
Great Britain had staked its claims in North Africa by purchasing the Egyptian
share in the French Suez Canal project, and then took over the Sudan in 1882
after crushing a rebellion by the Mahdists and the Dervishes. General Gordon’s
attempt to rescue isolated garrisons ended in disaster and his force was cut off
and massacred in Khartoum. General Kitchener finally regained control of the
Sudan after the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.
Germany, a late starter in the colonization of Africa, claimed rights to German
South-West Africa (now Namibia), Kamerun (Cameroon), Togo and German
East Africa (Tanzania), stirring protests among the other European powers. The
German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, held a conference in Berlin in 1884
where the European powers agreed to divide Africa up to avoid conflict in
Europe. It did not mean peace for the natives, however. Soon after Cecil Rhodes’
small army occupied Matabeleland with the help of the new Maxim machine
gun, renaming the area Rhodesia.
Trouble again flared in South Africa when gold was discovered in the
Transvaal in 1886, sparking an influx of settlers eager to stake their claim. An
abortive raid in 1896 stirred resentment and when the British failed to secure
rights for their citizens in 1899, the Boers retaliated by invading the Cape
Colony, besieging the towns of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley. The
British Army responded with huge task forces but setbacks at places such as
Colenso and Spion Kop showed that it was lacking in many areas when British
soldiers were confronted by determined men armed with modern weapons. It
was the start of a new learning curve, one that would stand the British Army in
good stead for the war in Europe a decade later.
Overwhelming numbers and an aggressive resettlement policy, in which
families were imprisoned in concentration camps, forced the Boers to roam the
veldt as guerrillas and, when supplies dwindled, they eventually sued for peace.
The annexation of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State meant that one-third
of Africa was now British.
R A
EORGANIZATION OF THE RMY
Between 1899 and 1902 the British Army was engaged in its first major
campaign of the twentieth century, facing the well equipped and highly
motivated Boers in South Africa. The experience was a rude awakening for the
War Office and high command; it was time to reform all areas of the armed
services.
A report was published in 1903 and the Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal
Lord Roberts, implemented many of the recommendations, but the Cabinet
refused to sanction conscription and plans to expand the Army had to be
scrapped.
Lord Esher’s committee strengthened the Committee of Imperial Defence and
set up the Army Council to replace the post of commander-in-chief in February
1904. Members reported to the Secretary of State for War on a wide range of
military, civil and financial matters. Before long they had authorized the
establishment of a General Staff and its three main branches, setting up